


Scarab's story

by Magma180



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-27
Updated: 2017-10-22
Packaged: 2018-11-19 18:06:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 4,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11318781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magma180/pseuds/Magma180
Summary: Bruno Taller, an entomologist, was researching new armors during WWII to help the Allies win in Europe, but a sudden power loss causes an explosion which mutates him into a giant stag beetle. Calling himself Scarab, Bruno will witness the creation of the Avengers protocol and take part in numerous adventures with Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Falcon and the other members of the team.





	1. How it all started

**Author's Note:**

> Now this is a rather big job, and I'm not even counting the DC comics crossover (long story). But that is what I will do, along with the Star Wars saga. Now in terms of Universes, I don't have the foggiest idea of where Scarab is. I just picture him in the Marvel movies with everyone else, but I might make another version of him in the "ultimate" Universe. And before anything else, I have to say that except for Bruno Taller/Scarab, his family and any other characters I might add at a later date, everything else belongs to Marvel and all that.
> 
> If anyone notices an error in the story (wrong name, date or other), just let me know in the comments.
> 
> And one last thing, I know the background story is a little bit cliché, but it's already hard enough to write based on a movie. Plus the whole mutation thing works every time, why mess with perfection ?
> 
> Happy reading !

I have reached a point in my life where I mostly think about what happened to me. Not just the events that made me into this, but all the good things, like my first relationship, and the bad things, like all the moments in which I embarrassed myself in front of a huge assembly. Memories. All of them. But inevitably, I always come to this moment in my life where everything changed. But if you are reading this you probably don't know what I am talking about. So let me explain...  
  
We are going up to the point where it all happened. Kinda like a hinge. My previous life is rather plain : I was a normal boy, grew up in the States (in New York to be precise), got a degree in entomology (the study of insects) with a special affinity for beetles of every kind. My name was... is... Bruno Taller. Nothing interesting, had a daughter called Freya with the most beautiful, charming and loving woman named Grace Foline and the three of us were happy.  
  
Then World War 2 came along. The happy times were over. But the state of affairs would only get out of hand in 1942. The day Steve Rogers became Captain America.  
  
I knew Steve back then. We were in the same high school, and Bucky and I would defend him against the bullies. I wasn't that close to him but on occasion he would seek me out whenever Bucky wasn't around. When he grew up he wanted to do the honorable thing and join the army at all costs. But his scrawny build always betrayed him. That would change, though... in time... But I digress. My effort for the war was to find a way to duplicate the chitin on the beetle's shell to make tanks that were lighter and more protected than plain iron or steel. Grace was out shopping and I was in my basement lab with my daughter, then aged 5. She was playing with a toy car (she had this dream of becoming a racer one day) by herself in the corner. That was fine, it was almost a game of who would look up first. On that particular day, everything was normal. I was at a very delicate stage of my protocol, which would either result in another failure or a huge breakthrough. If you want to know the whole details, I'll just say that by combining adamantium with the chitin, i obtained a special alloy with the same properties than vibranium. But right before the process could be complete, there was a huge power failure. The blackout was so intense that my failsafe didn't activate. Freya was petrified with terror as she watched my struggle to prevent anything bad from happening. But I soon realized that some chemicals I had been using in the lab had to be kept at a certain temperature, or the heat would destabilize the molecules and provoke a detonation.  
  
I grabbed Freya in my arms and ran. But just as I reached the cellar doors, I tripped over something and twisted my ankle. As I fell, everything seemed to happen in slow motion. I spun around trying to fall on my back so as to not injure Freya, but before my backside touched the floor the chemicals exploded violently, sweeping up my new alloy and a small piece of radioactive material. Freya was sweeped away by the explosion but I was trapped under the rubble, with a twisted ankle and several bruises and wounds. The pain was so intense that I fell unconscious. I would later learn that Freya got away from the explosion with only a broken leg. She fell right in front of Grace who returned from grocery shopping. Both thought that I perished in the explosion which leveled our home - a fact that I was too coward to rectify.  
  
And that was where it happened. When it happened. How it happened. I would learn the why in a few short weeks, but that is for a different chapter of my story...


	2. Another assignment

When I awoke, it was night and I was somewhere I didn't recognize. Some sort of tent, or makeshift camp. I remembered the explosion, my panic upon seeing the radioactive material fly towards me in the detonation, a great pain on my legs as rubble buried me, then... well nothing else. As I stood up I didn't feel anything, which means that who- or whatever dug me out must have done so a while ago. But I also felt weird in my skin. And when I looked down, I instantly knew why.  
  
I had no skin. Just some sort of purple-ish armor welded on my body. To top off the nightmare, I had four arms. FOUR ARMS ! I confess that I let out a scream right then. Who wouldn't ? The next discovery was equally shocking : beneath each of my arms were blades. Long and serated, they went from halfway between my elbows and wrists all the way back and more, for a total length of about a foot and a half. But the worst was the head : somehow I had mutated a pair of wicked-looking pincers right behind my head, somewhere between the neck and shoulders. My hair seemed to have been the only thing that remained intact, but that was small compensation over the fact that I looked like a monster. Some sort of human-beetle hybrid. "No. No. No no no no... this can't be happening !"  
  
I tried everything but it hurt like hell. The shell (ironically made of the same alloy I had synthesized) was connected to my nervous system. As I had predicted, it was impossible to breach by anything else. The small parcel of chitin I had sawed off with my blades revealed that my muscular system was unchanged and movement was allowed by small gaps in the armor filled up by a soft membrane. All in all, I was a human trapped in a scarab.  
"An accurate description," said a voice behind me, "but right now I need the doctor that is in you." I realized I had been talking out loud the whole time, but also that I was being watched. A military officer had appeared behind me and was watching me.  
"Who are you ? Where am I ? What happened to me ? What do you want from me ?" I asked.  
"I'm Major Dreyson. We are in a military hospital on the front line in Italy. As for what happened to you, I don't know but all I care is the fact that you are the closest thing we have to a doctor and we need you right now !"  
It was all going too fast. Italy ? How did I get in Italy without me knowing it ? And even if I did know the basics of medical science, that most certainly did not make me a doctor !  
"Wait ! What happened to me and how did I get here ?"  
"I believe I can answer all these questions" said a woman who had just arrived behind him.  
"My name is Peggy Carter. Come with me, Bruno, I'll tell you everything."


	3. Adapting

"Your science project didn't go wrong by itself. I believe we were the ones behind the power shortage, but I assure you we didn't do so with malicious intentions," Agent Carter kept saying. I was inclined to believe her, but I was still bitter about my... condition. Yet I had the sense to keep quiet and listen to her. Mostly because she kept talking and wouldn't be interrupted. She went on : "We proceeded to a special experiment ourselves : testing a super-soldier formula to try and enhance people and end the war sooner than calculated. The energy necessary to complete the test was too much and shut down the electrical grid in New Jersey."  
As she calmly explained, I felt resentment. The army knew what I was doing, they should have warned me ! Put up signs, invented a reason, something ! And before I could stop myself, I demanded, my voice dripping with acid : "And who would the test subject be ? Whoever it is, I can only hope that the experiment went well."  
"As it happens, yes. Captain Rogers survived and became the world's first super-soldier."  
I stopped dead. Rogers ? Steve Rogers my scrawny little friend ? A super-soldier ? That was like announcing he had been on Mars. "Captain Steve Rogers ?" I asked. And when Agent Carter's affirmation came, I was at a loss of what to do. He was inadvertedly the one who had caused my mutation, but I couldn't hate my friend for something that was beyond his will. Right then, right there, I had nothing.  
  
My job as a doctor was even more ingrate than I had anticipated: all I was asked was to hold the patients as they thrashed on the operating table while the 'doctors' did their gruesome work. The only good things I took out of this was the ability to better control my arms and learn some basic first aid techniques. I also learned several things, including:  
-that the radioactive piece was the cause of my mutation, which was mostly due to the DNA samples of the different beetles fusing with mine.  
-I had small antennas perched on top of my head which acted like motion sensors, indicating movement in a 5-meter radius.  
-my pincer on top of my head could actually move, and apply a force equivalent to the weight of 80 kilos  
-I had wings tucked behind my back shell. And I could actually fly ! After a few trials of course...  
-Steve (now known as Captain America) was doing a show to encourage people to donate for the war effort  
-And finally, he would be coming to Italy on the front lines to boost the troops' morale.  
That last piece of intel was the hardest one to come by. It also left my with a dilemma : should I greet him and risk scaring him off ? Everybody grew accustomed to me but it took a long time for that to happen... and besides, I wanted to see what super-soldier meant for those army guys.


	4. We meet again

Steve Roger's arrival came by too quickly. I wasn't ready to renew contact with my old friend and instead watched his performance from the top of a pine tree, hidden away. The soldiers all sat down, their morale low from recent defeat and the capture of some of their teammates. Then he came onstage, with a bunch of girls all lined up for a dance. If I hadn't been warned about my friend's drastic growth spurt and muscle gain, I wouldn't believe that it really was my high school companion. But I did recognize his face and demeanor. The soldiers were being rather uncooperative, not answering his rally calls, requesting that the dancers stay onstage, one even asking Captain Rogers to sign his ass. After the show it started to rain and Steve was left alone, sketching something on his notepad just a few meters away from the pine tree I was hiding in. I knew this was my golden opportunity to start again but something always held me back. Just then Agent Carter came to talk to Steve, who left his notebook open. I was ashamed to let a chance like that fall away. Steve kept talking to Miss Carter and I tried to spy on what he was drawing. I leaned in and held on to a small branch. I caught a glimpse of a monkey, dressed in an American flag and doing a circus act. I realized that the monkey was my friend : he was captain, but led no forces and was wasting his time trying to get people's attention on the war.  
  
That was when the branch I was on broke and sent me tumbling down. I landed on my back and my shell took the brunt of the force, but I was still winded by the fall. And Steve finally noticed me. "Bruno ? Is that you ?"  
"Yeah" I managed, surprised that he wasn't terrified of my appearance. Then again, he wasn't easily scared. I still felt ill at ease and wrong-footed.  
"I heard what happened to you. Wow... that's quite a change."  
"And you as well ! You look like you were the bully in high school. I just became a freak", I added sadly.  
"I disagree,"Steve gently corrected. "You still have that same face I grew up with. It just got stuck in a shell."  
"Gentlemen ! Shall we ? We are being awaited at the command center, you can catch up with each other on the way" said Agent Carter.


	5. Just like old times

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took me long enough, but I managed to finally cram those chapters. Though I must say, this isn't turning out the way I first saw this. Oh well...

On the way I felt more and more at ease with Steve, talking about what we did after high school. Although he was curious about how I came to be Scarab (my nickname in the barracks), he could tell that I didn't want to talk about it. Which was nice. In a way I really knew it was still him right there and then.  
  
As we came to the command center, the high command was deliberating on whether or not they should risk an extraction on a base called HYDRA. "What's HYDRA ?" I asked. In short, a Nazi science division led by Herr Schmidt, bent on using science to rule the planet. The next thing I knew, I was in Mr Stark's plane, flying over enemy lines and disobeying orders. Steve was carrying his shield - which was either brave or stupid, since the thing was only one flimsy piece of aluminum - and he was arguing with Agent Carter about... fondue ?  
"Steve, we're going in enemy territory on an unsanctioned mission with relatively no chances of success whatsoever, try to think of something else besides bread dipped in melted cheese !"  
"Look who just woke up ! Nice of you to join in, Scarab !"  
  
When finally we reached the drop zone, the dynamic duo (namely us) jumped out of Stark's aircraft and flew into HYDRA's compound undetected. There, Captain America gave me the details of our plan : he was to rescue the captured soldiers while I gained intel on what they were manufacturing in this base. We then split up, each of us bent on our roles. HYDRA soldiers never knew we were coming, but Steve slipped up and got sighted. One thing led to another, and the alarm sounded. Fortunately, the captives were freed and took care of the remaining nazi forces. I, on the other hand, found something more valuable : a map of Europe with all the major HYDRA facilities and targets. And a file cabinet with classified information about nazi fortifications, some new aircraft, unspecified science projects and computer algorithms. It was all small fish compared to what we were expecting from HYDRA, but they could help turn the tide of the war. I grabbed what I could and stuffed everything in map tubes for safekeeping. And just in time too, because the base exploded a second later. I ran out of the office to find Steve and Bucky on scaffoldings with Herr Schmidt on the other side. The latter had a small, paunchy man at his side - no doubt Arnim Zola, HYDRA's chief scientist. Just as I ran up to the friendly duo, Schmidt saw me: "Ah yes, I see that the army now allows pets, captain ?" he mocked.  
"Touch me, and I'll bite your hand off, freak !" I replied.  
  
Then something truly horrible happened: Schmidt seemed to struggle with something on his neck, then he pulled off his face in the literal sense. Underneath this mask, the nazi only had a red skull-like head. "You couldn't be more right, insect ! Aren't we all freaks ?" he taunted, throwing away his face in the blaze of the self-destructing base below. "I have become more than human and so have you, captain. I'm just not afraid to show it !" were his parting words.


	6. Flight of the Scarab

"Boys, how 'bout we leave this dump with our skins attached ?" I cried, grabbing Bucky on my right and Steve on my left and deplying my wings.  
"Wait, have you flown with a heavy load before ?" asked Bucky.  
"Time to find out ! HANG ON !"  
  
I burst through the roof two seconds before the base blew up. With my motion detectors I could pick out all the wind currents created by the blaze and the rising temperatures. I also noticed a bizarre-looking plane on my left : it looked like a huge propeller stuck in the middle of a rather small plane with small masses on the ends of the propeller. As I watched, I saw Red Skull enter the plane and turn it on. Immediately the masses on the end ignited and pushed the blades. So those are engines, I thought. I turned my attention back to my friends whose feet were dangling below.  
"Where should I land ?" I asked.  
"Over there ! That's the thick of the action !" replied Bucky. Indeed, some of the prisoners had taken over a tank and were making some good use of it, driving off HYDRA goons and blasting their way out. I landed and the three of us took out the rest of the hostile forces. Once everything calmed down, all of us - by which I mean the survivors, Bucky, Captain Rogers and I - made our way back to camp. There was no talking, just the rumble of the captured tank and the heavy footsteps of the weary.  
  
During the trip, Captain America came to see me, saying "Thanks for sticking with me, Bruno. I couldn't have done this without you."  
"Hey, that's what friends are for, right ? By the way, I have found some of HYDRA's secret projects. That should ease the tension when we return."  
"Heads up, guys, we're here !" intervened Bucky.  
And so we were. The gates were open and soldiers watched in awe as their captured friends walked in, with weapons, trucks, and a tank they had never seen before. Everypne was too shell-shocked to do anything...  
...except for the general. He marched straight for us with a withering stare, well set on court martialing us and executing us for disobeying orders. I was just about to stand and shield Steve but instead he confronted the problem head-on and stood ready for trial. The general said nothing, but merely nodded and said "That won't be necessary." We were home free. After submitting the plans, I started treating the wounded, but Cap's legend was born.


	7. The tables have turned

After a while, everything seemed like a blur : some of the survivors had banded together to form a special unit called the Howling Commandos, including Bucky. We would keep hitting HYDRA hard, neutralizing convoys, capturing key personnel and obliterating their bases. Red Skull, according to our intel, was waging his own war against Hitler, but with us entering the picture, it was all he could do to prevent internal collapse. So far our luck held : no casualties on any single mission (I even pride myself, as the commando's medic, of having a flawless record).  
  
But our luck was about to turn.  
  
During the bleak winter of 1942, Captain Rogers, Bucky and a few members of the Howling Commandos were on a mission to intercept chief HYDRA scientist Arnim Zola, Red Skull's right-hand man. He was being shipped to a more secure location on a train chugging through the Swiss Alps. I wasn't there, but Cap had told me every detail of this op. The infiltration team were at the top of a ridge overlooking the train tracks on the other side of the ravine, listening on radio chatter for signs of the incoming train. Suddenly the radio operator (a great guy, if he weren't so straightforward with the ladies) frowned and looking up, delivered some bad news : "HYDRA is accelerating, the engineer just got the order from Red Skull himself." After a few choice words from some of the team members (especially Logan, he sure as hell wouldn't kiss his mother with that mouth), Bucky told everyone what that meant for the op : "That means we only have about 10 seconds to get on that train ! You miss that window, you are bugs on a windshield." And indeed, the train was moving at a very fast pace, somehow miraculously not tipping over at every turn on the tracks. Bucky went first, then Cap, then two other commandos before the ten second window closed on the team. They were on their own.  
  
One of the other two was sent to the front of the train while the other went to the back and Cap and Bucky went inside through an access hatch. Cap had deduced that Zola would be at the front of the train, but if they could sabotage enemy equipment, so much the better.  
As my two best friends crept inside the train, fiddling with dangerous equipment, Cap walked over the next wagon while Bucky finished destabilizing an augmented HYDRA rifle. Suddenly the doors between the two compartments slid shut and soldiers opened fire on Bucky, who replied with his own carbine. Steve, however, was faced with one of the few projects Zola had made off with the first night I saw him : a heavy striker with huge weapons. He shot once and Steve barely had time to deflect the shot when Zola ordered the thug to fire again. It was then that the dynamic duo noticed the cameras watching their every movements : they had walked directly into the good doctor's trap.  
  
Meanwhile, Bucky was down to his last rounds of ammo and the enemy kept coming. Switching his empty rifle for his revolver, he took cover behind some crates and kept firing. Cap managed to dodge the next shot from the heavy artillery and, with a mighty throw from his shield, knocked the guy out. He then forced open the first door to find Bucky out of ammo and hiding behind some crates, which were slowly being disintegrated. Opening the other door, Steve motioned for Bucky to catch his gun. The latter renewed the shootout to distract the soldiers, whilst Cap pushed another set of boxes to knock the others out. And just when they thought it was over, the big brute from Roger's part of the ambush crept up on my friends with ease and fired on Cap, knocking him to the ground. It was, fortunately, only a glancing blast, and he was only stunned, but already his opponent was readying the killing strike. Then, unexpectedly, Bucky took the shield and stood facing him, ready to give his life for his friend. The gunner switched targets and instead fired on Bucky, who was standing near the wall of the train compartment. The wall suddenly exploded outwards, peeling back on itself until a whole section was open to the frigid winds outside. Steve recovered enough to be able to throw his mighty shield and knocking out the brute, for good this time. At once, he noticed that Bucky wasn't present in the wagon anymore, and for a split second he wondered where he was. Then Cap heard a cry coming, amazingly, from outside the train. It was Bucky, hanging on for dear life on a piece of railing that was slowly unscrewing itself. Cap jumped out and tried to reach for his friend, who was doing the same thing. "Grab on !" But they were just out of reach. "A little closer..."  
  
Abruptly, the railing gave way and Bucky fell off the cliff, where jagged rocks and freezing water awaited him after a 150-foot drop. There was nothing Steve could do. At the same time, one of the commandos broke into the front of the train, right next to an unarmed Zola. It was all over un a matter of seconds. And in the aftermath, while everyone celebrated a well-deserved break, I joined Steve and mourned the loss of our friend, Sargent James Buchanan Barnes.


	8. Questions and Answers

A few days later, Steve had some trouble with Agent Carter about their relationship. I didn't know any of the details, but I did know that between losing Bucky and falling out with Agent Carter, all he had left was the war. We had to win, for Cap's sake. And that meant interrogating thouroughly Arnim Zola.  
  
I was assigned for the interrogation. General Phillips thought he would talk more freely with another man of science. Besides, I wanted to discuss some of his projects which were missing critical components. I didn't expect him to tell me everything without some degree of persuasion, but it was certainly worth a try.  
  
Before going in, I watched him through a one-way mirror. He knew we were here, of course, but didn't give any outward signs of smugness. Quite the contrary, he felt ill at ease, almost paranoid. I will admit, though, he didn't exactly look like a scientist affiliated with dictatorship. I felt sorry for him. Then again, this was the man who had been responsible for the loss of Bucky, so maybe not that much. With this in mind, I entered the room with several blueprints and, with a slight nod to the guards, asked them to leave the room. They didn't object and closed the door, leaving me inside with Zola. I unfurled one of the most complex blueprints I could find, and studied it for a second before turning it to him, asking: "Okay, talk to me: what is this ?" Zola spent a few moments just staring at it, before answering almost predictably: "And why would I tell you ? You have nothing to bargain with !"  
"True. I can't force you to tell all of HYDRA's secrets, nor do we have anything that is within reason to barter with. But consider this: you are deep within enemy territory, surrounded by guards who have orders to shoot you on sight should you even try to escape. Until further notice, you are trapped here with us. And if HYDRA ever made a superweapon capable of obliterating us all, I'm sure Red Skull would have no qualms whatsoever of using it - even if it meant killing you in the process. So you see, you are fighting for your own survival. Now, I'm going to ask again: what is this ?"  
To his credit, Zola was stubborn as a mule. He still refused to cooperate, even going as far as ignoring me. But I didn't let that deter me. Instead, I went for plan B: "Very well. Would you like something to eat ? We have steak, maybe some chicken, mashed potatoes, you name it."  
At the mention of food, he turned his head and asked, almost incredulous: "You have steak ? Made from ersatz materials, no ?"  
"No. Made from a cow. You know, like a real steak ?"  
"I'd rather not."  
"Really ? Why ? Going for vegetarian ?" It was incredible how quickly the conversation had turned to a more mundane subject but still retained the urgency of the situation. All our replies were carefully measured, not letting anything escape. But most importantly, I felt like a bomb was ticking in front of me, and I had to guess the right combination of trust, intellect and cunning to disarm it. Luckily, I was used to that: it was almost like monitoring a chemical reaction.  
"My stomach disagrees with red meat."  
"I see. Kinda like me right now."  
This remark seemed to push him over the edge. His nostrils flared, his eyes opened wide and he started to spit at me: "I am not like you, you pathetic insect ! I know how you came to be like that, and this just shows how much of a pitiful scientist you are ! I am the mind of tomorrow !"  
It hurt. Because it was true. But instead of letting it get to me, I turned the anger around and slammed my fist on the table, making a loud noise. Almost at the same time, my outer shell opened and my wings deployed, but they didn't vibrate. Instead, they stood still, showing off a peculiar pattern. And as I roared "THAT'S IT !", a loud hissing sound emanated from me. The effect was instataneous: Zola shrinked away, whimpering a little. But I didn't notice it, and instead kept on loudly: "You should consider yourself so lucky: because of your importance among the Nazis, we gave you a clean cell, some real food, and various other comforts ! Plus, I'm the one interrogating you, not Captain America, and you murdered his friend Bucky ! Honestly, I feel as though we should kill you right now and be rid of you once and for all ! Now shut your superior act and just tell us what Red Skull's next target is ! NOW !"  
At this, Zola perked up a bit and replied, with a menacing smile: "His next target ? Oh but that is easy, so easy that I will give this to you: his next target is the world."  
That was when I realized what exactly I was looking at: the plans I had laid on the table was that of a giant flying wing, with tremendous speed and gargantuan payload. And we were worrying about Red Skull's little soldiers and tin toys ? This wasn't going to end well.  
  
Our options were limited and we were running out of time.


End file.
